Republican Kevin McCarthy persuaded many party rebels to fall behind in his bid to become Speaker of the House on Friday, but he is still far from consolidating his position in a historic 13th vote. I didn’t.
momentum in favor McCarthy The race for leadership in the House has begun for the fourth straight day. It remained unclear whether the California legislators would be able to prevail over the few remaining hardliners.
McCarthy criticized several of his critics, including a rule change that would make it easier to seek no-confidence votes for future speakers, and a promise of Plum Committee quotas for members of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus. Offered a round of concessions.
These efforts appeared to upset more than half of the 20 Republicans who had opposed his presidency in previous rounds, including Dan Bishop of North Carolina and Byron Donald of Florida. And the hope for his allies is that his improving numbers will put pressure on the rest of the holdouts to back his bid.
Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, one of the previous holdouts to overthrow in favor of McCarthy on the 12th ballot, tweeted after the vote: I have negotiated in good faith, and one of his aims is to restore the people’s homes to their rightful owners. Now that the framework of the deal is in place, I voted to rebuild the People’s Assembly by voting for McCarthy as a good faith effort. ”
But resistance from seven members of his own party was unwavering, defiant, and enough to ruin his chances of winning the gavel in the House of Representatives in Friday’s first round.
Bob Goode of Virginia Republican Party A dissident, he said before the vote that he would not support McCarthy “at any time.”
“The whole reality is that he doesn’t have 218, he doesn’t have 218. , can begin to scrutinize and evaluate…[alternative]candidate,” he said.
Goode said he wanted Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, as Speaker of the House, but other lawmakers wanted Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican and member of the House Republican leadership. “There are members who support him. I think they should name him, nominate him, and vote for him.”
Despite McCarthy’s big concessions in recent days, Goode said there is still a marked lack of “credibility” in his willingness to follow through. “He’s desperate because he doesn’t believe in any of the things he agrees to, so he’ll only be doing them if forced.”
The last time more than one vote was required to elect a chairman was in 1923, when nine votes were required. If the stalemate is not resolved, the process could continue into the weekend. The House of Representatives is constitutionally obligated to elect a Speaker and cannot move on to legislative work until someone has been handed the gavel.
The Republican infighting has exposed long-simmering tensions within the Republican party wondering how to move forward after a relatively disappointing performance in the November election. midterm elections.
McCarthy found himself in a difficult position as the “red wave” he and others predicted had not materialized and the Republicans now controlled the House by very thin margins.
The House stalemate has also raised questions about how Congress will function over the next two years, and whether McCarthy and other Speakers will be able to compete with rival factions within the party to pass legislation. increase.
One immediate threat is a possible debt ceiling crisis later this year. Economists predict that the US economy risks defaulting on its debt in the third quarter if Congress does not agree to raise the government’s borrowing limit.
